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March 10, 2023
Relocation talk as insurers ponder Gabrielle pay outs
Gideon Porter
Posted On March 10, 2023
Download AudioA massive rethink is coming on what can be insured and how much it will cost.
Tim Grafton, the chief executive of the Insurance Council Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa, says the Anniversary Weekend rainfall and Cyclone Gabrielle were the two most significant weather events for insurers, one after the other.
It brought the future into the present and raised questions about whether it makes sense to repair in very high risk areas.
He says the immediate issue is fixing what can be fixed, but there could be some tough conversations to come.
“A lot of people have been through pretty traumatic experiences so we need to let people think carefully about what will happen in those areas in future so we need to give some tie for people to think about that and the future of their current location,” Mr Grafton says.
Only 32 percent of Māori have house insurance compared to the New Zealand average average of 48 percent, and their shared assets like marae are also vulnerable to sea level rise.
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